RAWALPINDI: A month before the elections, campaigning in Rawalpindi appears limited to posters and banners, in the face of a pervading lack of interest and searing temperatures in the city.

Compared to previous elections – when the PPP established its central elections office on Liaquat Road, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) on Murree Road and the PML-N on both – parties are more interested in settling disputes over the distribution of party tickets than actively campaigning for their candidates.

Other than Awami Muslim League’s Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, who has opened Lal Haveli to the public, political parties in the city have not made decisions on their elections schedule or central offices yet.

Party workers, candidates ‘uninterested’ in electioneering

A senior PPP leader told Dawn the lacklustre campaigning was because of the heat and people’s lack of interest in the elections; the election momentum has not picked up and party workers are not spending time on election campaigns, he said.

The party did not open a central office in the city because candidates did not want to spend money, he added.

“Three weeks from the election, the party’s popularity in the city is not visible. Apparently the party will fail to attract people in the city areas,” he said.

Party leaders have not yet issued any plan for public meetings, he added.

Former PML-N MNA Malik Shakil Awan said electioneering was limited to door-to-door and street campaigning, and an election office would be established by the National Assembly candidate soon.

He admitted that election activities had been dull, saying: “Workers and supporters of all the parties have not taken as much of an interest as they did in 2013.”

“Central party leaders have arrived in the city and electioneering will speed up,” he added.

Mr Awan also attributed the lack of fervour to the local administration, which he said was removing banners and posters for no reason.

Former MPA Arif Abbasi of the PTI also admitted to a lack of momentum in the party’s campaigning because of a lack of interest on the part of candidates and workers.

“The candidates in the city were not sure of their tickets, as the PTI has changed decisions very quickly in the past few days,” he said.

In 2013, campaigning began two months earlier, with the inauguration of the PTI’s central office by chairman Imran Khan. This time, however, the party was not interested in the work needed to establish a central office that will coordinate with all seven National Assembly constituencies in the district.

The parties’ workers too seem uninspired.

“The party’s leaders charisma and programme for the people forced people to leave their houses in the warm weather, but after Benazir Bhutto party workers did not take an interest in election campaigns,” PPP leader Nasir Mir said.

Published in Dawn, June 29th, 2018